The River
by simonxriley
Summary: Joel and Ellie go to a nearby river to gather some fish. Only Joel has a little surprise up his sleeve.


**A/N: This is my first time writing anything for TLOU. But I've been wanting to branch out a little and I came up with this cute little idea. I apologize if Joel and Ellie are a little ooc. But I hope you enjoy!**

Ellie was walking behind Joel on their way down to the river. The last few days were more than hectic. First, another group of hunters attacked the hydroelectric plant, making a large group of infected come their way. They lost a lot of people that day, but they somehow managed to kill the infected and take back the plant. Now with some piece and quiet, Joel and Ellie were heading for the river to catch some fish. Since rations were getting low, Joel offered to go out and scrounge up some food.

He was becoming a little restless with not much to do. The infected would get burned to a crisp if they touched the electric fence and the hunters didn't really attack. Knowing they were greatly outnumbered. It's almost been 2 months since they've come back to Jackson County. Ellie became comfortable rather quickly, which both shocked and delighted Joel. And she was quick to make new friends.

Ellie looked at the fishing pool in her hand and sighed. She knew nothing about fishing, but what she's heard from Joel. It's boring. She'd much rather go hunt for a buck than go fishing. You would get more food anyways. "Ugh. Do we have to fish? Why can't we just go find a buck? A buck can feed a lot more people than a few fish can."

"Have you seen any deer around? Anyways, it'd be good for you to learn." Joel scratched at his beard and kept walking. Little did Ellie know, he had a little surprise for her.

"Fine. But if I see a buck, I'm shooting it." She glanced down at her gun and then looked around her. The woods were quiet, besides the chirping of birds.

Ellie grabbed her butterfly knife from her back pocket and fiddled with it. Tommy gave her a sharpening stone awhile back and she put it to good use. Her knife was getting frighteningly dull. Now it was as good as new. She put it away and sighed.

The sound of rushing water filled their ears. They were getting close to the river. Ellie started to whistle to pass the time. Then Joel quickly turned to her and placed a finger on his lips. A silent message for her to be quiet. He pointed in front of them and that's when she saw the infected. It looked to be 3 clickers and 1 runner who was munching on some poor unlucky fellow.

The runner's back was to them, which made them have a good advantage and the clickers weren't walking around. Joel as quietly as he could loaded his bow and arrow before he moved closer. As Ellie did the same. Then quietly as they could they made it a little bit closer to where the infected were. Making sure to watch out for any twigs they might accidentally step on.

They ended up getting relatively close. Joel lined up the arrow with a clicker, he patiently waited for the wind to pass and then he let the arrow go. The first clicker went down with out a problem. Ellie had her arrow ready, just as soon as she let the arrow go a breeze came through. Altering the arrow's path. Her heart ceased for a second when the arrow landed right in the head of the runner.

Luckily for them, it didn't alert the remaining two clickers. Joel loaded another arrow and waited for the breeze to pass yet again. Then he let it go, hitting one of the other clickers. Ellie loaded an arrow for the last remaining clicker. She aimed it at the head and waited for the inevitable breeze to come by. Once it died down she let it go. The only thing that could be heard was the faint snapping of wood as the arrow hit the head of the clicker.

"Alright. Looks like that's all of them." Joel stood back up and placed the bow back on his back.

"I fucking hate those things." She stood up, but kept the bow in her hand.

They continued on until the river was right in front of them. Joel dropped his bag and turned to Ellie. She groaned and dropped hers. Then went to grab the fishing reel. Only Joel stopped her.

"We're actually not here for fishing."

"Then why are we here?" She raised a brow and gestured around her.

"I'm gonna teach you how to swim. How's that sound?" He crossed his arms and waited for a reaction.

"Now? I don't know, the water looks pretty deep." She looked over at the river. She could tell exactly how deep it was, but it looked deep to her.

"Yes now. Unless you wanna wait until next summer? It's only deep in the middle. We'll go out to about your waist, that gives you enough room to actually swim and stand up if need be. So whaddya say kiddo?"

"Sure. What if infected show up or hunters? Our bags will be here while we're in the water." She didn't like the thought of being unprotected.

"That's why I have the bow and you have your knife right? We'll be fine. There's no hunted in these parts anyways. Not sure about infected though." He shrugged and bent down to grab something from his bag. "I will take this. Just in case."

He grabbed a large knife and secured it to his belt. Then he made his way towards the river. Ellie slowly following behind. He waited until she was right next to him.

"The currents not strong here. Just slowly walk out until the water comes to your waist, or just below." He started to walk out. The cold water was refreshing on him. It was another blistering hot day. He knew the water would only be coming up to at least his thighs. He turned to see how Ellie was doing. The water was up to her shins. Joel shook his head and walked a little further. Only to stumble and fall into the water.

Ellie stopped when she heard a splash. She looked in the direction the splash came from and saw Joel sitting in the water. "What happened?"

"I slipped on a damn rock. So be careful." He groaned and stood back up. Then waited for Ellie. She chuckled and slowly walked over to him, making sure not to step on any rocks. "You do know the concept of swimming right?"

"Yeah. You move your arms and kick your legs."

"There's a little bit more too it than that kiddo. First get use to the water." Joel dipped his hand in it. Feeling the slow current move through his fingers.

Ellie dipped both her hands into the water. Feeling it move through her fingers and against her body. The current was slow, agile. Perfect for practicing. She looked around her, seeing if there was a change in the current anywhere. When there wasn't, she relaxed a bit more. It didn't take her long before she was use to it.

"Okay, I'm use to it. What's next?" She turned towards Joel and placed her hand back in the water. The movements through her hand was calming.

"You've seen me do it enough. Why don't you give it a whirl?" He moved back a little to give her a little more space and so he wouldn't get splashed.

Ellie took a deep breath and looked down at the clear water. Watching it flow down the stream. Then she let it out and went for it. Moving her arms in a half circular motion, pushing the water to each side of her. And then kicked her legs. She moved a little ways forward, splashing Joel as she did. When she got a few feet away, she stood up and turned back to Joel.

"Holy shit. I did it." Happiness and a little shock shown over her face. She wasn't expecting to get it that fast. Then she turned around and headed back towards Joel.

"See. It's not that hard. Soon you'll be a pro." He smiled and looked down at the watch on his wrist. Remembering of the time he taught Sarah how to swim.

Ellie kept swimming back and forth between Joel and a few feet away. She was enjoying herself for the time being. And it was good for her to learn, now she could help Joel if need be. After a while she swam back to Joel and stood up. She placed her hands on her hips and was trying to catch her breath.

"My arms are tired. So when can you teach me how to swim under water?"

"Yeah, it'll do that too you. Let's learn how to swim in deeper water first before we go for under water." He shook his head and scoffed.

"Fine. Weren't we originally here to get food?"

"Yeah." Joel sighed and headed out of the river. Ellie following behind. He crouched down by his bag to grab the fishing rod. He saw something from his periphal vision and looked up. Then he lightly tapped Ellie on her arm to grab her attention. She looked at him with a confused look. All Joel did was point. She looked in the direction he was pointing and joy spread across her face. They both slowly put on their gear and grabbed their bows.

"Let's go get that buck of your kiddo."


End file.
